Isaiah 49-52, Psalm 69, 1 Corinthians 14 - NASB - New American Standard Bible

Isaiah 49-52

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

Listen to Me, O ^aislands,

And pay attention, you peoples from afar.

^bThe Lord called Me from the womb;

From the ¹body of My mother He named Me.

He has made My ^amouth like a sharp sword,

In the ^bshadow of His hand He has concealed Me;

And He has also made Me a ¹select ^carrow,

He has hidden Me in His quiver.

He said to Me, “^aYou are My Servant, Israel,

^bIn Whom I will ¹show My glory.”

But I said, “I have ^atoiled in vain,

I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;

Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,

And My ^breward with My God.”

And now says ^athe Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^bIsrael might be gathered to Him

(For I am ^chonored in the sight of the Lord,

And My God is My ^dstrength),

He says, “It is too ¹small a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ^apreserved ones of Israel;

I will also make You a ^blight ²of the nations

So that My salvation may ³reach to the ^cend of the earth.”

Thus says the Lord, the ^aRedeemer of Israel and its Holy One,

To the ^bdespised One,

To the One abhorred by the nation,

To the Servant of rulers,

“^cKings will see and arise,

Princes will also ^dbow down,

Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

Thus says the Lord,

“In a ^afavorable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

And I will ^bkeep You and ^cgive You for a covenant of the people,

To ¹^drestore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;

Saying to those who are ^abound, ‘Go forth,’

To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

Along the roads they will feed,

And their pasture will be on all ^bbare heights.

“They will ^anot hunger or thirst,

Nor will the scorching ^bheat or sun strike them down;

For ^cHe who has compassion on them will ^dlead them

And will guide them to ^esprings of water.

“I will make all ^aMy mountains a road,

And My ^bhighways will be raised up.

“Behold, these will come ^afrom afar;

And lo, these will come from the ^bnorth and from the west,

And these from the land of Sinim.”

^aShout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!

Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!

For the ^bLord has comforted His people

And will ^chave compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a woman forget her nursing child

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but ^aI will not forget you.

“Behold, I have ^ainscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your ^bwalls are continually before Me.

“Your ¹builders hurry;

Your ^adestroyers and devastators

Will depart from you.

“^aLift up your eyes and look around;

^bAll of them gather together, ^cthey come to you.

^dAs I live,” declares the Lord,

“You will surely ^eput on all of them as ¹jewels and bind them on as a bride.

“For ^ayour waste and desolate places and your destroyed land⁠—

Surely now you will be ^btoo cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who ^cswallowed you will be far away.

“The ^achildren of ¹whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

“Then you will ^asay in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am ^bbarren, an ^cexile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was ^dleft alone;

¹^eFrom where did these come?’”

22 Thus says the Lord ¹God,

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations

And set up My ^astandard to the peoples;

And they will ^bbring your sons in their bosom,

And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

“^aKings will be your guardians,

And their princesses your nurses.

They will ^bbow down to you with their faces to the earth

And ^click the dust of your feet;

And you will ^dknow that I am the Lord;

Those who hopefully ^ewait for Me will ^fnot be put to shame.

“^aCan the prey be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of ¹a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Surely, thus says the Lord,

“Even the ^acaptives of the mighty man will be taken away,

And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,

And I will ^bsave your sons.

“I will feed your ^aoppressors with their ^bown flesh,

And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;

And ^call flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your ^dSavior

And your ^eRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

God Helps His Servant

Thus says the Lord,

“Where is the ^acertificate of divorce

By which I have ^bsent your mother away?

Or to whom of My creditors did I ^csell you?

Behold, you were sold for your ^diniquities,

And for your ^etransgressions your mother ^fwas sent away.

“Why was there ^ano man when I came?

When I called, why was there none to answer?

Is My ^bhand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I ^cdry up the sea with My rebuke,

I ^dmake the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

“I ^aclothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

The Lord ¹God has given Me the tongue of ^adisciples,

That I may know how to ^bsustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me ^cmorning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord God has ^aopened My ear;

And I was ^bnot disobedient

Nor did I turn back.

I ^agave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

For the Lord God ^ahelps Me,

Therefore, I am ^bnot disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like ^cflint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

He who ^avindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us ^bstand up to each other;

Who has a case against Me?

Let him draw near to Me.

Behold, ^athe Lord God helps Me;

^bWho is he who condemns Me?

Behold, ^cthey will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

Who is among you that fears the Lord,

That obeys the voice of His ^aservant,

That ^bwalks in darkness and has no light?

Let him ^ctrust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who ^akindle a fire,

Who ¹encircle yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will ^blie down in torment.

Israel Exhorted

“^aListen to me, you who ^bpursue righteousness,

Who seek the Lord:

Look to the ^crock from which you were hewn

And to the ¹quarry from which you were dug.

“Look to ^aAbraham your father

And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;

When he ^bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

Indeed, ^athe Lord will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her ^bwaste places.

And her ^cwilderness He will make like ^dEden,

And her desert like the ^egarden of the Lord;

^fJoy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

“^aPay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My ¹nation;

For a ^blaw will go forth from Me,

And I will ²set My ^cjustice for a ^dlight of the peoples.

“My ^arighteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My ^barms will judge the peoples;

The ^ccoastlands will wait for Me,

And for My ^darm they will wait expectantly.

“^aLift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the ^bsky will vanish like smoke,

And the ^bearth will wear out like a garment

And its inhabitants will die ¹in like manner;

But My ^csalvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not ²wane.

“^aListen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose ^bheart is My law;

Do not fear the ^creproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

“For the ^amoth will eat them like a garment,

And the ^bgrub will eat them like wool.

But My ^crighteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

^aAwake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;

Awake as in the ^bdays of old, the generations of long ago.

^cWas it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the ^ddragon?

Was it not You who ^adried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep;

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the ^bredeemed to cross over?

So the ^aransomed of the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And ^beverlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

And ^csorrow and sighing will flee away.

“I, even I, am He who ^acomforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of ^bman who dies

And of the son of man who is made ^clike grass,

That you have ^aforgotten the Lord your Maker,

Who ^bstretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you ^cfear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,

As he makes ready to destroy?

But where is the fury of the ^doppressor?

14 The ¹^aexile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, ^bnor will his bread be lacking. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who ^astirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name). 16 I have ^aput My words in your mouth and have ^bcovered you with the shadow of My hand, to ¹^cestablish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
17

^aRouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have ^bdrunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger;

The ¹chalice of reeling you have ²drained to the dregs.

There is ^anone to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

These two things have befallen you;

Who will mourn for you?

The ^adevastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

Your sons have fainted,

They ^alie helpless at the head of every street,

Like an ^bantelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of the Lord,

The ^crebuke of your God.

Therefore, please hear this, you ^aafflicted,

Who are ^bdrunk, but not with wine:

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God

Who ^acontends for His people,

“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the ^bcup of reeling,

The ¹chalice of My anger;

You will never drink it again.

“I will ^aput it into the hand of your tormentors,

Who have said to ¹you, ‘^bLie down that we may walk over you.’

You have even made your back like the ground

And like the street for those who walk over it.”

Cheer for Prostrate Zion

^aAwake, awake,

Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;

Clothe yourself in your ^bbeautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, the ^choly city;

For the uncircumcised and the ^dunclean

Will no longer come into you.

Shake yourself ^afrom the dust, ^brise up,

O captive Jerusalem;

^cLoose yourself from the chains around your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says the Lord, “You were ^asold for nothing and you will be ^bredeemed ^cwithout money.” 4 For thus says the Lord ¹God, “My people ^awent down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My ^aname is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall ^aknow My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”
7

How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings ^agood news,

Who announces ¹peace

And brings good news of ²happiness,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your ^bGod ³reigns!”

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their ^avoices,

They shout joyfully together;

For they will see ¹with their own eyes

When the Lord restores Zion.

^aBreak forth, shout joyfully together,

You ^bwaste places of Jerusalem;

For the Lord has comforted His people,

He has ^credeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord has bared His holy ^aarm

In the sight of all the nations,

¹That ^ball the ends of the earth may see

The salvation of our God.

^aDepart, depart, go out from there,

^bTouch nothing unclean;

Go out of the midst of her, ^cpurify yourselves,

You who carry the vessels of the Lord.

But you will not go out in ^ahaste,

Nor will you go ¹as fugitives;

For the ^bLord will go before you,

And ^cthe God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

Behold, My ^aservant will prosper,

He will be high and lifted up and ¹greatly ^bexalted.

Just as many were astonished at you, My people,

So His ^aappearance was marred more than any man

And His form more than the sons of men.

Thus He will ^asprinkle many nations,

Kings will ^bshut their mouths on account of Him;

For ^cwhat had not been told them they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.

Psalm 69

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to ¹Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

Save me, O God,

For the ^awaters have ²threatened my life.

I have sunk in deep ^amire, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a ¹^bflood overflows me.

I am ^aweary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My ^beyes fail while I wait for my God.

Those ^awho hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would ¹destroy me ^bare powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;

^cWhat I did not steal, I then have to restore.

O God, it is You who knows ^amy folly,

And ^bmy wrongs are not hidden from You.

May those who wait for You not ^abe ashamed through me, O Lord ¹God of hosts;

May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

Because ^afor Your sake I have borne reproach;

^bDishonor has covered my face.

I have become ^aestranged ¹from my brothers

And an alien to my mother’s sons.

For ^azeal for Your house has consumed me,

And ^bthe reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

When I wept ^ain my soul with fasting,

It became my reproach.

When I made ^asackcloth my clothing,

I became ^ba byword to them.

Those who ^asit in the gate talk about me,

And I am the ¹^bsong of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, ^aat an acceptable time;

O God, in the ^bgreatness of Your lovingkindness,

Answer me with ¹Your saving truth.

Deliver me from the ^amire and do not let me sink;

May I be ^bdelivered from ¹my foes and from the ²^adeep waters.

May the ¹^aflood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the ^bpit shut its mouth on me.

Answer me, O Lord, for ^aYour lovingkindness is good;

^bAccording to the greatness of Your compassion, ^cturn to me,

And ^ado not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am ^bin distress; answer me quickly.

Oh draw near to my soul and ^aredeem it;

^bRansom me because of my enemies!

You know my ^areproach and my shame and my dishonor;

All my adversaries are ¹before You.

Reproach has ^abroken my heart and I am so sick.

And ^bI looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for ^ccomforters, but I found none.

They also gave me ¹^agall ²for my food

And for my thirst they ^bgave me vinegar to drink.

May ^atheir table before them become a snare;

And ¹^bwhen they are in peace, may it become a trap.

May their ^aeyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

And make their ^bloins shake continually.

^aPour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

May their ¹^acamp be desolate;

May none dwell in their tents.

For they have ^apersecuted him whom ^bYou Yourself have smitten,

And they tell of the pain of those whom ^cYou have ¹wounded.

Add ^ainiquity to their iniquity,

And ^bmay they not come into ^cYour righteousness.

May they be ^ablotted out of the ^bbook of life

And may they not be ¹^crecorded with the righteous.

But I am ^aafflicted and in pain;

¹May Your salvation, O God, ^bset me securely on high.

I will ^apraise the name of God with song

And ^bmagnify Him with ^cthanksgiving.

And it will ^aplease the Lord better than an ox

Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

The ^ahumble ¹have seen it and are glad;

You who seek God, ^blet your heart ²revive.

For ^athe Lord hears the needy

And ^bdoes not despise His who are prisoners.

Let ^aheaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and ^beverything that moves in them.

For God will ^asave Zion and ^bbuild the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and ^cpossess it.

The ¹^adescendants of His servants will inherit it,

And those who love His name ^bwill dwell in it.

1 Corinthians 14

Prophecy a Superior Gift

^aPursue love, yet ^bdesire earnestly ^cspiritual gifts, but especially that you may ^dprophesy. 2 For one who ^aspeaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one ¹understands, but ²in his spirit he speaks ^bmysteries. 3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for ^aedification and ^bexhortation and consolation. 4 One who ^aspeaks in a tongue ^bedifies himself; but one who ^cprophesies ^bedifies the church. 5 Now I wish that you all ^aspoke in tongues, but ^beven more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who ^aspeaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive ^cedifying.
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of ^arevelation or of ^bknowledge or of ^cprophecy or of ^dteaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if ^athe ¹bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be ^aspeaking into the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of ¹languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a ¹^abarbarian, and the one who speaks will be a ¹barbarian ²to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of ¹spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the ^aedification of the church.
13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 ^aWhat is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will ^bsing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless ¹in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ²ungifted say ^athe “Amen” at your ^bgiving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not ^aedified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Instruction for the Church

20 ^aBrethren, ^bdo not be children in your thinking; yet in evil ^cbe infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In ^athe Law it is written, “^bBy men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. 22 So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but ^aprophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ¹ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that ^ayou are mad? 24 But if all ^aprophesy, and an unbeliever or an ¹ungifted man enters, he is ^bconvicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 ^athe secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will ^bfall on his face and worship God, ^cdeclaring that God is certainly among you.
26 ^aWhat is the outcome then, ^bbrethren? When you assemble, ^ceach one has a ^dpsalm, has a ^eteaching, has a ^erevelation, has a ^ftongue, has an ^ginterpretation. Let ^hall things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a ^atongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must ^binterpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three ^aprophets speak, and let the others ^bpass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of ^aconfusion but of ¹peace, as in ^ball the churches of the ^csaints.
34 The women are to ^akeep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but ^bare to subject themselves, just as ^cthe Law also says. 35 If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is ¹improper for a woman to speak in church. 36 ¹Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?
37 ^aIf anyone thinks he is a prophet or ^bspiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you ^care the Lord’s commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he ¹is not recognized.
39 Therefore, my brethren, ^adesire earnestly to ^bprophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40 But ^aall things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

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